If you want what Adobe Audition’s Match Loudness panel does, a batch of files set to one loudness target with true-peak limiting, but you do not need the rest of Audition, WavSpec is a Windows alternative built for that one job. It checks every file against a named delivery spec, corrects loudness, true peak, sample rate, bit depth and room tone, re-measures the delivered files, and writes a PDF, HTML, CSV and JSON report. It is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store and runs offline.
Audition is a full audio workstation, and Match Loudness is a good batch tool inside it. The question is whether you are paying for a workstation when the work in front of you is delivery: forty episodes, a folder of promos, or a book’s worth of chapters that must meet a spec someone else wrote.
Check a whole batch against the client’s spec and keep the report, on your PC.
Get it from Microsoft
What does Audition’s Match Loudness panel do?
Adobe documents the panel in its help article Matching loudness across multiple audio files. The workflow is:
- Choose Window, then Match Loudness.
- Drag one or more files into the panel.
- Click Scan to measure each file.
- Open Match Loudness Settings and pick a standard from the Match To list.
- Set Maximum True Peak Level, the loudness target, and the tolerance, then click Run.
The Match To list includes ITU BS.1770 variants, EBU R128, ATSC A/85, FreeTV OP59, ARIB TR-B32 and PRSS, according to the same article. Adobe’s own blog post, Audition CC as a Loudness Correction Appliance, describes using a workstation running Audition as a shared correction station, processing several files at once across CPU cores.
That is a capable tool, and if Audition is already open on your desk every day, it is the obvious one to use.
Where does a delivery job need more than a loudness match?
A client spec rarely stops at integrated loudness. A typical delivery sheet also names a true-peak ceiling, a sample rate, a bit depth, a container, sometimes a maximum short-term loudness, and for audiobooks an RMS window, a noise floor and room tone at each end. The QC desk on the other side then wants proof.
| Delivery need | Audition Match Loudness | WavSpec |
|---|---|---|
| Batch loudness to a target with true-peak limiting | Yes | Yes, gain to the exact target, look-ahead limiting only where needed |
| Named spec presets | Standards in the Match To list | Ten built-in specs, each cited to its source document, plus your own |
| Judges pass or fail per criterion | Scan shows measured values | Pass, fail or advisory for each criterion, before and after |
| Sample rate, bit depth, container | Through Audition’s export settings | In the same run: windowed-sinc resampling, TPDF dither, PCM WAV or CBR MP3 |
| Audiobook RMS, noise floor, room tone | Not part of the panel’s documented settings | Measured, with room tone padded or trimmed from the file’s own room tone |
| Report to send with the files | Not described in the help article | PDF, HTML, CSV and JSON, with a SHA-256 for every delivered file |
| Watch folder and command line | Adobe’s blog describes a shared-folder workflow | Built-in watch folder and command line with exit codes |
| Price model | Adobe Creative Cloud app | One-time purchase in the Microsoft Store, 15-day free trial |
| Platform | Windows and macOS (Adobe’s blog describes dragging files from Windows Explorer or OS X Finder) | Windows 11 version 22H2 or later, x64 |
Facts about Audition come from Adobe’s help article and blog post linked above, checked on 17 October 2026.
How does WavSpec run the same batch?
WavSpec measures integrated, short-term and momentary loudness, loudness range and 4x oversampled true peak per ITU-R BS.1770-5, with a meter its test suite checks against the EBU Tech 3341 and 3342 test signals. For voice specs it adds whole-file RMS, noise floor and room tone.
- Drag in the files or folders. WavSpec reads WAV, BWF, RF64, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, AAC, M4A and WMA in mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1.
- Pick the spec. Choose a built-in preset such as EBU R 128 broadcast, ATSC A/85, Apple Podcasts or ACX audiobook, or build a client spec with a target, a tolerance, a peak ceiling, optional short-term, momentary and loudness-range limits, and the accepted formats.
- Check. Every file is measured and judged against each criterion before anything changes.
- Correct. One run sets gain to the target, limits true peaks only where the gain pushed them over, resamples, converts bit depth with dither, and writes the delivery format into a separate delivery folder.
- Re-measure and report. Each delivered file is measured again from disk, and the report lists before and after values, a short-term loudness timeline per file, a batch consistency line, your client and project details, and the SHA-256 of every delivered file.
Originals are opened read-only and never overwritten. Broadcast Wave bext, iXML, LIST and cue chunks are carried into the delivered files. More on that in our guide to the audio delivery QC checklist.
Run last month’s delivery through WavSpec during the 15-day free trial and compare the numbers.
Get it from Microsoft
When should you stay with Audition?
Be honest about what the job is. Audition is the better pick when:
- You are still editing. Match Loudness sits next to multitrack mixing, spectral repair and noise reduction. WavSpec does not edit audio, remove noise, or fix plosives and clicks.
- You already pay for Creative Cloud. If Audition is part of a plan you keep for Premiere Pro or other Adobe apps, a second tool for loudness may not earn its place.
- You work on a Mac. WavSpec runs on Windows 11 only.
- You need Audition’s other standards. If a client asks for FreeTV OP59 or ARIB TR-B32 and you want it as a named preset, Audition lists those. In WavSpec you would build a custom spec from the document.
When does a dedicated delivery tool make more sense?
- Delivery is your bottleneck, not editing. Mixing happens in your DAW of choice; the batch then has to meet a sheet of numbers and you need proof it did.
- The client asks for a report. A PDF with before and after values per file, plus a SHA-256 for every delivered file, answers the QC desk’s questions before they are asked.
- The spec has more than one number. ACX’s RMS window and room tone, a short-form spot’s maximum short-term loudness, or a broadcaster’s sample rate are all part of the same run.
- Recurring work. A named spec per client, a watch folder for new exports, and a command line for DAW post-export hooks keep the routine the same every week.
- You want to own the tool. WavSpec is a one-time purchase. There is no account, no telemetry and no network connection.
What about free tools?
Free options exist and work. ffmpeg-normalize, a free open-source command-line tool, runs two-pass EBU R128 normalization by default and needs Python and ffmpeg. Free loudness meters show the numbers for one file at a time. If you are comfortable in a terminal and do not need a report or audiobook checks, they may be all you need. Our post on fixing true-peak overs in a batch of WAV files covers why gain and limiting order matters whichever tool you use.
Frequently asked questions
Is WavSpec a full replacement for Adobe Audition?
No. WavSpec replaces the delivery part: checking, correcting and reporting a batch against a spec. It does not record, edit, mix or restore audio.
Does WavSpec use the same loudness measurement as Audition?
Both measure to ITU-R BS.1770. WavSpec implements BS.1770-5, with short-term and momentary loudness per EBU Tech 3341 and loudness range per Tech 3342. See LUFS, LKFS, dBTP and LRA explained for what each figure means.
Can WavSpec process files automatically like a loudness appliance?
Yes. Set a watch folder and new files are checked and corrected under the selected spec once they finish writing, and the report grows as they arrive. The command line runs the same check with a spec name, a delivery folder and exit codes.
Does it upload my audio?
No. WavSpec opens no network connection, has no account and collects no telemetry. Files go only to the delivery folder you choose.
What does it cost?
WavSpec is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store; the listing shows the current price in your currency. The Store runs a 15-day free trial of the full product.
Try WavSpec
WavSpec is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store, with a 15-day free trial. Take a batch you delivered recently, pick the spec it was meant to meet, and read the report. For broadcast targets see normalize audio to EBU R 128, or go to the WavSpec product page.
Deliver the batch to spec, and send the report with it.
Get it from Microsoft
Adobe and Audition are trademarks of Adobe. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Other names are trademarks of their owners. WavSpec is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Last updated 17 October 2026. Published by Automata Labs, a software company in Canada.